Take a Minute in Statia 002: Venus Bay from Boven

Our second „Take a Minute in Statia“ features Venus Bay in Boven Nationalpark. Located at the Northern end of St. Eustatius, hiking in Boven area offers stunning views over rugged land with steep cliffs, grooved rocks, mysterious woods, mesmerizing meadows, historic reminiscences, oddly shaped cacti and secluded bays, like Venus Bay.

This minute was filmed from the top of the highest peak at 289 metres in these Northern hills of Statia: Boven. Enormous copper-coloured boulders are characteristic of the top of Boven. They are the remains of eroded layers of volcanic deposits. The red colour is due to the oxidation of the ferromagnesian mineral of the rocks.

Take your very own minute in Statia: From Boven to Venus Bay

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Instead of the view to the South with the Quill, we focus on Venus Bay. There are various peaks and hills to discover in Boven Nationalpark, but for your very first visit, we recommend hiking to Venus Bay. While sitting at the rocky shore or on the old mahogany tree trunk, you can watch Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) diving down into the ocean to catch fish. Magnificent Fregatte Birds (Fregata magnificens) cruise along the coastline and during certain times of the year Red-billed (Phaethon aethereus) and White-tailed Tropicbirds (Phaethon leptucus) are common sights. After your birding break, you can decide to explore more of the rolling hills in the Northern terrain.

Hiking on Statia, not only from Venus Bay to Boven

The whole island Statia is formed by volcanic activity. The Boven area is more eroded than the dormant volcano The Quill (Take a Minute in Statia 001). Around one million years ago, volcanic activity started. Bergje, meaning little mountain, is the main remnant of this old volcano while Boven and the Gilboa Hills are ancient solidified streams of lava, according to the Hiker‘s Guide of St. Eustatius National Parks (STENAPA).

Even though the section of Boven Nationalpark was formally established in 1997, land-use conflict hindered STENAPA from actively managing this natural treasure of two km2 until 2007. Only then STENAPA created the various hiking paths connecting nature and history so beautifully. This part of the island is the main habitat of the endemic flower „Statia Morning Glory“ (Ipomoea sphenophylla).

Support STENAPA and their work by purchasing a trail tag for 10 USD. Each trail tag is valid for one calendar year. You can get it directly at the STENAPA office, using the opportunity to browse through the brochures, books, cards, souvenirs and more their little shop has to offer. Maybe even book a guided tour to places like the tidal pools with the Boven Nationalpark? Also, Tourist Information of the island, hotels and dive centres sell trail tags.

National Park Nature Chase 2022

„Take a Minute in Statia 002: Boven Nationalpark with Venus Bay“ is an invitation to the world to visit this wonderful Caribbean island. At the same time, we‘d like to invite everybody on the island to join the National Park Nature Chase on Statia Day, Wednesday, 16th of November. This „Triathlon“ isn‘t entering Boven Nationalpark, so enjoy the view of this clip and sign up as a single participant, relay team or volunteer to help out with the event. You don‘t want to commit? Just come and cheer all participants on.

The participants experience the marine park swimming, culture and history on the island while biking from Lower Town to the entrance of Boven Nationalpark and then onto the entrance of the Quill Nationalpark where the hiking starts. We are taking part as a relay team for St. Eustatius Animal Welfare Foundation (SEAWF). Yoeri is swimming, Nicki is biking and Jenny running/hiking. Additionally, we have all the love and support from the rest of the volunteers. For the finish at the Quill, they bring the dogs of the animal shelter to celebrate with the team and get to know more nature and animal lovers on this island. You can already browse through the stories and pictures of our dogs here.

Some more information from the organisers

STENAPA and the Culture Department have been collaborating on the organization of the second National Parks Nature Chase, held on Statia Day, November 16, 2022. After the morning celebration, this ‘triathlon’ will give people the opportunity to visit all three National Parks across the island in one day.

TIME and DATE:
8-11 am, Wednesday, November 16, 2022

ROUTES:
Find the maps online.

PARTICIPATION FEE:
$45 ($15 per person in Relay Teams) – Non-refundable after Nov 4 (find a replacement)

AGE LIMIT:
18 years old and older

CATEGORIES:
Individual – Male & Female
Relay Team (3 persons, 1 event per person)

DISTANCES:
SWIM: 0.4 km
BIKE: 9 km
HIKE: 1.8 km
TOTAL: ~11+ km

ESTIMATED TOTAL TIME: 3 hrs

Take more minutes with Devocean Pictures

Take a Minute to Fly

As this is just the second clip of our series „Take a Minute in Statia“ we connect you to our other 1-minute-long clips for more visual meditation. Watch the whole playlist on our YouTube channel or browse through the different clips on our designated page „Take a Minute to Fly“ on this website.

Take a Minute to Relax

For more plenty of visual meditation and marine information, watch the whole playlist of „Take a Minute to Relax“ on our YouTube channel or browse through the different clips on our designated page „Take a Minute“ on this website or in the blog.